(AUSTRALIA)
THE ISTER - David Barison, Daniel Ross

The Ister is the Danube River’s historical name, and the name used by the great German poet Friedrich Hölderlin as the title of one of his mystical poems. That same poem was the starting point for a series of lectures by philosopher Martin Heidegger in 1942, in which he spoke of the essence of politics and humanity within territories while confronting Germany's political, cultural, and military chaos. In an upstream journey from the mouth of the Danube in Romania to its headwaters in the Black Forest, Barison and Ross’ beautiful cinematic essay explores the thinking of the controversial philosopher in the context of events and circumstances a half-century later. Four distinguished philosophers and artists act as guides: Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe, Jean-Luc Nancy, Bernard Stiegler, and filmmaker Hans-Jürgen Syberberg (Our Hitler). As it crosses the remnants of devastated Yugoslavia and other countries shrouded in clouds of uncertainty, the Danube turns out to be central to current debates about the Europe of tomorrow. The Ister invites and engrossing immersion into some of the most provocative issues facing the world today: home and place, culture and memory, technology and ecology, politics and war. In French, English, German, Croatian with English Subtitles. (3:09:00) Print courtesy of First Run/Icarus Films.

Showtimes:
20-02-2005 | 7.30PM | GU

SOMERSAULT - Cate Shortland Winner of 13 Australian Film Institute Awards including Best Picture, Director and Screenplay, Somersault is a visually haunting story of an adolescent girl’s discovery of the difference between sex and love in the winter landscape of an Australian ski resort town. Sixteen-year-old Heidi (Abbie Cornish), just becoming aware of her sexuality, makes a careless, ill-advised pass at her mother’s boyfriend. Caught in the act, she runs away to the mountain town of Lake Jindabyne in shame, where she finds a job and a room and embarks upon a series of relationships that mark her entry into an adult understanding of her behavior. Beyond its rites-of-passage story, Somersault is a meditation on gender politics, a critique of youth culture and a hopeful affirmation of the value of forgiveness without easy catharsis. (1:46:00) Print courtesy of Magnolia Pictures. First Feature Showtimes: 25-02-2005 | 6.45PM | WH 26-02-2005 | 3.00PM | WH